1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to video games. More specifically, the present invention relates to generating, from a photographed image, a game element for use in a game played on a terminal device, such as a cellular phone.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a role playing game, a player plays the role of a player character in a virtual space. The player character solves problems by using various items while moving in the virtual space. The variations of the ways of solving the problems during progress of the game can be increased by the use of items by the player character. For instance, the effective usage of the items by the player can quicken the progress of the game. Accordingly, the player is interested in the presence or absence of the items.
Recently, players' demands are changing from simply enjoying the same game as other players play to enjoying his or her own game. For instance, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-159739 discloses a game machine which acquires environmental data from outside of the virtual space and reflects the data in the game.
In the technology of Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-159739, however, a player acquires at least one piece of environmental data from multiple types of environmental data, such as a direction, a weather, an atmospheric condition, a temperature, and the amount of light, from the outside of the virtual space. The player generates a character which appears in the game. The generated character varies in accordance with the acquired environmental data. In this case, the degree of the effect of the data acquired from the outside of the virtual space on the progress of the game becomes too large. Accordingly, acquisition of the environmental data may cause the game to progress against the player's intention.